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WI 15-16 RwS Completed Tasks - Winter 15/16
20.1 Grazia Deledda Animal Dreams by Barbara Kingsolver
Review:
Animal Dreams by Barbara Kingsolver was chosen by two other friends and me to read over the holidays. One friend sped right through it, one gave up after a few chapters and I trudged through and finally finished it. All that to say that Kingsolver seems like an author people really like or really don’t like. I think the basic story of Codi returning to her hometown to take care of her father after many years away was interesting. I just found a lot of the in between stuff to really not be as interesting. I’ll give it 2 stars.
+20 task
+10 review
+5 oldies (published 1991)
Task total = 35
Grand Total = 65
Task 10.9 Realistic Ratings The Garden of Happy Endings (2012) by Barbara O'Neal
+10 Task
Task Total: 10
Grand Total: 155 + 10 = 165
15.6 DominosThe Mummy Case by Elizabeth Peters
same first name as 15.5 (see message 11 in Domino plan thread)
25 task
____
25
Running total: 320
20.1 - Grazia DeleddaWhose Body? by Dorothy L. Sayers
I knew I would love Sayers as soon as I read the dedication:
"Dear Jim: This book is your fault."
Then add in the awesome Lord Peter Wimsey, about whom everything has already been said by people more eloquent than I, and I was in love.
The good:
- I'm learning that I love "historical" fiction that is written in the time it was set. It feels like Sayers is writing what she knows best.
- The language is decidedly British and of its time - total Kazen catnip.
- The mystery itself was interesting and fun and kept me thinking but not stressing over the whodunit.
The not-so-good:
- My brain had to be on to read this. No one's fault, and not necessarily bad, but it wasn't a nighttime book for me.
+20 task (approved post 109)
+10 combo (10.9 - 3.92 rating, 20.9 - pub. 1923)
+10 review
+10 oldies
+5 combo
Task total: 55 points
Grand total: 300 points
10.3 Science Fiction DaySomewhere in Time by Richard Matheson
#47 on list
Review
I do love a romantic time travel novel though I still loved The Time Traveller’s Wife despite the non-HEA ending. Somewhere In Time is rather like The Time Traveller’s Wife in ending but you knew, right at the start, that the ending was not going to be pretty. I wasn’t too impressed with this novel, as I wasn’t enamoured with the characters, the theory of time travel, and of course, the ending. I understood the main character at the beginning of the novel, got frustrated with him then he just deteriorated. The theory for time travel in this novel was really quite laughable ((view spoiler)) and worthy of an eye-roll. It’s quite surprising that it was made into a movie... I wonder if they “Hollywood-ise” the ending!
+10 Task
+10 combo (10.2; 10.9 -3.90 avg)
+10 Review
Post Total: 30 points
Total points: 475 points
20.6 Svetlana Alexievich (2015)Child 44 (Leo Demidov #1) by Tom Rob Smith
Review
A fascinating mystery set in the suspenseful era of the Russian Federation. The beginning was quite slow though about a third into the novel, I was fully into this scary world and couldn’t let go. Child 44 is rather like a gripping drama with a touch of mystery. I have enjoyed getting to know these characters and growing with them. The mystery side of the story was fairly average and I think without this setting, the novel (or the mystery) wouldn’t have been memorable at all. As it is, I’m looking forward to the next book and in checking out the movie!
+20 Task
+10 Review
+5 Series
Post Total: 35 points
Total points: 510 points
20.10 Leap YearThe Best Exotic Marigold Hotel by Deborah Moggach
Definitely not the kind of book I would usually pick up, but definitely a lot of fun. Seems amusing Oldies are a bit of a thing with me this season, and the residents of The Marigold Hotel are certainly amusing, even with the various deaths and tragedies. They give hope to the younger ( and younger includes the middle aged here)people around them, that life is not over and can still go on, however uncertain things are now, and how different those who have trod the path before us are.
This is the opposite of India meets West books that I have read in previous seasons, and it would seem that West moving to India is possibly more life affirming and easier to adapt to than the other way around.
Some of the characters are very likeable, and it was nice for them to receive the happy endings that they do.
And with that, I have reached my goal of 144 books for the year, a huge step up from previous years, I can only think of one other year since becoming a parent that I have managed to read so much, and then it was a lot of YA and Junior Fiction, so I'm really happy with that achievement, and it wouldn't have happened without reading for challenges such as this one, so thank you! And, I even have a day spare!!
+20 task
+10 review
+5 combo (10.9 - rated 3.43)
Task Total = 35
Grand Total = 255
20.9 Winnie-the-PoohFive Children and It by E. Nesbit
Lexile 980
+20 task (published 1902)
+5 Combo (10.9 rating 3.86)
+10 Oldies
+5 Series (Five Children #1)
Task total: 40
Grand Total: 315
20.9 Winnie-the-PoohThe Rider by Edgar Rice Burroughs
It was a cute little adventure story with some entertaining twists and a case of love at first sight. It will probably pass out of my memory quickly. I'd picked it up because it was one of the interesting looking books we cleared out of my in-laws basement, so it was worth the cost and the time reading it at least. You could call it a modern fairy tale, I suppose. The time frame is never really set - just enough that a princess has completed schooling in America - and no one character is ever particularly fleshed out, just enough that you can imagine them yourselves and see a little character growth during the story.
+20 task
+10 review
+10 oldies (1937)
+10 combo 10.9 (3.66), 10.2 (no L)
Task total: 50
Grand total: 595
20.2-Sigrid Undset (1928)-The White Company by Arthur Conan Doyle
the book takes place 100% during the 1300s
Fun adventure story. I can see why Doyle was proud of it. His research shines through and enriches the story without getting in the way. I thought it was especially interesting how Doyle depicted the different attitudes of different classes, including going about as bawdy as he could get at the time. With that said, the characters feel more like types than individuals. It's a romance (the way the word used to be used, not in the sense that a relationship is at it's center), not a realistic novel with grime and mixed feelings. The world is pretty simplistic. And some of that attitude towards the age of chivalry is reflected in the word choice and the sentence structure. I enjoyed the read and am glad I picked it up.
+20 task
+10 review
+10 age (1891)
+10 combos 20.9, 10.9 (3.86)
Task total: 50
Grand total: 645
10.9 Realistic RatingsChina’s Imperial Past: An Introduction to Chinese History and Culture by Charles O. Hucker
Rating is 3.97
I found this book a well-organized and useful overview of thousands of years of information. Hucker pointed overarching themes and changes in attitudes and provided enough detail to lead to deeper studies if desired. It did not try to hard to be entertaining, but was a pleasant way to absorb much. I especially liked that samples of the literature and writing were included, and not just referred to. I wanted to understand some of the underpinnings and culture essentials of China before I began reading the Four Classic Novels as a personal challenge and the book delivered exactly what I was hoping it would.
+10 task
+10 review
+5 oldie (1975)
Task total: 25
Grand total: 670
Post 369 Beth wrote: "10.2 Noel, NoelChina’s Imperial Past: An Introduction to Chinese History and Culture by Charles O. Hucker
I found this book a well-organized and useful overview of ..."
"Imperial" has an L in it, so doesn't qualify for Noel Noel.
Sorry that was supposed to say 10.9.The rating is between 3 and 4.
I edited it
Beth wrote: "Sorry that was supposed to say 10.9.The rating is between 3 and 4.
I edited it"
Great - Kate will appreciate that correction so she doesn't have to look around. And great that it still counts, too!
20.1 Grazia DeleddaThe Town by William Faulkner
The first book in the trilogy is on Bloom's Western Canon, but not this and the third in the series. I think Mr. Bloom has said there were books left out and some that he might not have put on there had he taken more time to think about it. I'm thinking he might have just put this trilogy on there and still have had just the one entry.
V.K. Ratliff continues to be a narrator in this, as do two new characters: young Charles Mallison, whose first entries remind us he wasn't born yet when the events happened, and Gavin Stevens, twin brother to Charles Mallison's mother and therefore "Uncle Gavin", and who is also the city attorney and is called "Lawyer" by Ratliff. We do learn something about the characters of these three, but Flem Snopes is really the central character; what he does and why. This continues the brilliant character study begun in The Hamlet, and which I expect will continue in The Mansion.
Again, Faulkner's prose in this is not stream of consciousness, per se, but there is often more than one thought in any sentence and many of the sentences become small scenes.
Because we had all seen Mrs. Snopes by now, what few times we did see her which was usually behind the counter in the restaurant in another greasy apron, frying the hamburgers and eggs and ham and the tough pieces of steak on the grease-encrusted kerosene griddle, or maybe once a week on the Square, always alone; not, as far as we knew, going anywhere: just moving, walking in that aura of decorum and modesty and solitariness ten times more immodest and a hundred times more disturbing than one of the bathing suits young women would begin to wear about 1920 or so, as if in the second just before you looked, her garments had managed in one last frantic pell-mell scurry to overtake and cover her. Though only for a moment because in the next one, if only you followed long enough, they would wilt and fail from that mere plain and simple striding which would shred them away like the wheel of a constellation through a wisp and cling of trivial scud.Should the reader not have read The Hamlet, one can only imagine why such a creature would be the wife of the abhorrent Flem Snopes. This thought is integral to The Town because the small town of Jefferson, Yoknapatawpha County, Mississippi (I can neither spell nor pronounce the name of this county) really is no place for a woman who can walk in such a way and feel perfectly comfortable doing so.
I look forward to reading the third and final installment. In fact, I may have decided with this to become a Faulkner completionist. A full, robust, five stars here.
+20 Task
+10 Review
+ 5 Series
+ 5 Oldies (pub 1957)
Task Total = 40
Grand total = 180
10.9 Realistic RatingsHome for the Holidays by Debbie Macomber
Rating 3.96 as of 12/26/15
Review
This is a two story anthology. I liked the first story. It was about a woman who works as a stock broker. He is in love with her boss but he doesn't know she is alive. Then the office is getting renovated and the contractor is her brother's best friend from childhood. Also, they got married when they were kids. He knows who she is but she doesn't immediately recognize him. When she does, he does everything to embarrass her or so she thinks. It is a cute story.
The second story I didn't like as much. It reminds me of "Trading Christmas." where two people switch houses. In this story, the two people switch houses and fall in love. It didn't seem as interesting as the first story. I had to read fast because the book was due back at the library.
Task +10
Review +10
Book Title +20
Grand Total: 80
10.9 - Realistic Ratings:Common Wealth: Economics For A Crowded Planet by Jeffrey D. Sachs (average rating of 3.59)
Review: I took a web-based course on sustainable development taught by Jeffrey Sachs this summer and it was really interesting. Reading one of his many books was a logical next step. I feel like it has given me a good general overview of the themes and topics of sustainable development and more awareness into what's happening in the world. On a couple of occasions, I felt like his optimism wasn't warranted (like what the actual chances are of wiping out extreme poverty in the world in the very near future, for example), but I hope that time will prove me wrong and him right.
+10 task
+10 review
Task total: 20
Grand total: 180
10.4 - Favorite AuthorsThe Rogue Not Taken by Sarah MacLean
I love MacLean but her books can be hit or miss for me. When I love them I adore them, and when they don't work I'm left mightily disappointed. The Rogue Not Taken started off fine but by the end I was no longer on board with the couple or the situation or the... anything.
In the good column we have lovely banter, fun and believable crazy, and a long carriage ride that ends up being a sexy bottle episode. Yum.
In the not-so-good column: 20+ woman borrows uniform of tween footman and everyone thinks she's a man, even after talking, drinking, and playing cards with her. Right. Props to the hero for pointing out how stupid everyone is for not noticing, but so many people don't notice. And she pulls it off again later. Grah.
Also, I was looking forward to a fun or at least interesting rapport among the five sisters, but when they come back together near the end I wanted to strangle three of them. In fact, most of the secondary characters feel underdeveloped. They exist to chide or yell at the hero or heroine, or maybe drive a coach. Oh yeah, one character was there to be saved. But that's it.
I get that other people will love this book, but it's not for me.
+10 task
+10 review
Task total: 20 points
Grand total: 320 points
20.9 Milne The Financier by Theodore Dreiser
Review:
This story is set in Philadelphia in the 1860's and early 1870's. The main character, Frank Cowperwood, was a talented but amoral and opportunistic investor and broker. As a child he got his first taste of earning money by going to the docks in Philadelphia and buying a large quantity of soap, which he resold at a profit to a local grocer. After apprenticing at his father's bank, he moved on to investing and working at the Exchange. Trouble began when he got involved with transactions that were borderline illegal. His personal life was even worse, as he got involved with a very young woman, in spite of being married and the father of two children. Eventually this all blows up. His story is continued in the next two books of the trilogy. This book was a slog until the second half, and then it improved slightly. It might appeal to someone interested in political intrigue or the minutiae of finance. It didn't have a good historical atmosphere. This was my first and probably last book by Dreiser.
+20 task (1911)
+10 combo (10.2; 20.1 on list)
+10 review
+ 5 series
+10 oldies
Task total=55
Grand total=420
Task 20.9 Winnie-the-Pooh Read a book published during author A.A. Milne's lifetime (1882-1956)
The People of the Abyss (1903) by Jack London
+20 Task
+05 Combo (#10.9 Rating = 3.96)
+10 Oldies -76 to 150 years old: (1866-1940)
Task Total: 20 + 05 + 10 = 35
Grand Total: 165 + 35 = 200
10.10 Group ReadBig Stone Gap by Adriana Trigiani
It's 11pm NYE here, and my daughter is insisting that we stay up. It was 39C today, and both of these things have conspired to mean that I have been collapsed on the bed or couch reading, and manged to finish a final book for 2015!
This was another book I probably wouldn't have picked up if it weren't for the challenge, and i really enjoyed it.
A quick light read, with enjoyable characters and lots of twists and turns, and a lot of heart. Probably predictable, but there is nothing wrong with that in my opinion, as long as it manages to still entertain whilst getting to that point.
The most surprising part for me was reading about Elizabeth Taylor being on the campaign trail with her husband. I didn't know about this, I only knew about her actor husbands. So, another useless fact to add to those already bouncing around my brain.
I might see if I can squeeze other books in this series into future challenges.
+10 task
+5 series
+10 review
+5 combo (10.9 - rated 3.86)
Task Total = 30
Grand Total = 285
10.2 Noel, NoelFoundation and Empire by Isaac Asimov
I have mixed feelings about this one. It contains two stories in the progress of the Foundation.
The first novella/short story was only okay. Another one where there is tension but it's resolved naturally. It fit in the story arc but I can barely remember it a few days later.
But the second was the Hugo Winning novella "The Mule" and it was awesome. Unfortunately I realized partway into this that I had read it sometime before (no idea when, maybe high school?) and knew the punchline. But it was still an excellent story to go through and follow the attempts of the main characters. I especially liked both the surprise scene where they realized something was very wrong and the ending itself.
+10 task
+10 review
+15 combo 20.9 (1952), 10.3 (Sci-fi), 10.8 (Russian born)
+10 series (claimed #1 earlier)
+5 oldies
Task total: 50
Grand total: 720
15.2 - DominoesThe Storied Life of A.J. Fikry by Gabrielle Zevin
(from Speak Easy by Catherynne M. Valente - born 1979)
+15 Task (born 1977 - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gabriel...)
Task Total: 15
Grand Total: 195
10.7 Cozy HolidaysCrocodile on the Sandbank by Elizabeth Peters
Review: This first in the Amelia Peabody series was a lot of fun. In the same vein as other historical mysteries I’ve enjoyed like those of Maisie Dobbs, Mary Russell, and Lady Georgie, I had an enjoyable romp through the beginning of Amelia’s adventures. It was a different kind of mystery, too, since really no one was murdered. Usually cozy mysteries drive me a little nuts, reading about improbable situations. As an added plus, I didn’t totally figure out the intricacies of the mystery ahead of the narrator, and the light sprinkling of romantic tension present throughout the book kept me extra interested. I’m actually pretty surprised it was written in 1975, because it reads as though it was much more recently written.
+10 Task
+10 Review
+5 Oldies (pub. 1975)
+5 Series
Task Total: 30
Grand Total: 225
20.5 Alice Munro (2013) - AwardsThe Wars by Timothy Findley
Review: This book and I just simply did not get along. I read a review that called it historiographic metafiction, which is an accurate description and pretty much summarizes much of what I didn’t like about the format. It switches perspectives between following the main character, Robert Ross, getting in his head, following him through parts of his life only he would know, and following the research of an archivist, talking about how no one can ever really know the whole story. The parts following Robert weren’t terrible – they contained some heartbreaking depictions of war – but the rest just made the story unnecessarily complicated in my opinion, and none of it added up to a compelling whole.
+20 Task (Governor General’s Award 1977)
+10 Review
+5 Oldies (pub. 1977)
+10 Combo (10.8 – born in Canada, 10.9 – 3.85)
Task Total: 45
Grand Total: 270
10.1 Design Your Own TaskCatch Up On Some YA Series and New Releases
Blood of My Blood by Barry Lyga
low lexile
+10 Task
Task Total: 10
Grand Total: 475
20.1-Grazia Deledda (1926)A Cold Day For Murder by Dana Stabenow
+20 Task
+10 Combo: 10.8 Winter Solstice (Alaska) / 10.9 Realistic Ratings
+ 5 Series 1
Task Total: 35
Grand Total: 510
20.9 Winnie-the-Pooh Three Men in a Boat by Jerome K. Jerome
+20 Task: 1882
+15 Combo: 10.2 Noel, Noel / 10.9 Realistic Ratings / 10.10 Group Reads
+10 Oldies: 1882
Task Total: 45
Grand Total: 555
15.5 – DominoesRebecca of Sunnybrook Farm by Kate Douglas Wiggin
Lexile 1160
+15 task- both born USA
Task total: 15
Grand Total: 330
10.9 Realistic Ratings (Cory Day's Task)Hieroglyph: Stories and Visions for a Better Future ed by Ed Finn
my one book this challenge for starting before dec 1. only had about 20% completed.
A mixed bag, as are most short story collections. The idea intrigued me - that the stories could be about positive uses of extensions of current science in the relatively near future. Unfortunately, in some cases this made for stories that didn't feel like they had much plot to them and were more displays than anything.
My favorites were The Man Who Sold the Stars by Gregory Benford, which he freely admits is an update of Heinlein's Classic, and Entanglement by Vandana Singh, which I found just beautiful in its cycle and in the possible positive unintended consequences of a little bit different social networking.
+10 task
+10 review
+5 Jumbo
Task total: 25
Grand total: 745
10.3 Science Fiction DayOff Armageddon Reef by David Weber
+10 task (#132)
+5 Combo (10.2 Noel Noel)
+5 Jumbo (605 pages)
+5 Series
Task total: 25
Grand Total: 355
From Post 309Ed wrote: "10.1 Design Your Own Task - Read a book published in the 1990's
The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky
I had no expectations about this book. I picked it u..."
Sorry Ed, this book has a lexile score of 720. It qualifies for the task, but no style points.
10.9 Realistic RatingsEdge of Dark by Brenda Cooper
Review: Edge of Dark is a perfectly serviceable science fiction book. It kept me interested throughout, touched on important social and environmental issues, and had a diverse cast of characters with 2/3 focal points being from female perspectives. Despite its following a previous series by the same author, I didn’t feel like I was confused. However, it never went much beyond okay. The writing was fine, but there were a couple of glaring typos that pulled me out of the story. The characters were developed in some ways, but relied a lot on off screen backstory. Regardless, I’d totally pick up the sequel, just to see what happens now that the robots and the humans seem to be heading toward some sort of peace.
+10 Task (3.26)
+10 Review
+5 Combo (10.2)
Task Total: 25
Grand Total: 295
10.2 NoelAgnes and the Hitman by Jennifer Crusie
Review: Jennifer Crusie is an author that comes up time and time again as recommended as a stellar example of funny contemporary romance, and every time I’ve read her books before I just don’t connect well with them. This one was written with a partner, and reads more like a caper novel than a romance, and I liked it much more. Ridiculous things happen to Agnes – she gets into more scrapes than Stephanie Plum – but it was fun to go along for the ride, and I wish it were part of a series. The romance is almost incidental and very straightforward, which was a nice change of pace. Don’t expect this book to be realistic, but if you want something silly to read, it might be a good pick.
+10 Task (3.92)
+10 Review
+5 Combo (10.2)
Task Total: 25
Grand Total: 320
10.5 Favorite AuthorsForbidden by Kelley Armstrong
Review: I finished reading Kelley Armstrong’s Otherworld novels a while ago, which is how she ended up qualifying for this task, but I still had a few of the novellas left to read. It’s a good thing, since I was less a fan of her YA novels I’ve read, and it was fun to be back in this world. This is part of a series of in between shorter stories happening around the main events of the novels in the series, put out by Subterranean Press. I’m glad I didn’t pay the $24.99 shown on the jacket, since I expect it’s mostly that expensive due to the illustrations in it, which I didn’t particularly like. Don’t pick this up if you haven’t read the series, because while the mystery is pretty straightforward, I don’t think much of the world or character details would make much sense. For fans, I’d suggest finding it at the library if you miss following Elena and Clay.
+10 Task
+5 Combo (10.8 – born in Canada)
+10 Review
+5 Series
Task Total: 30
Grand Total: 350
From Post 351Amanda wrote: "20.6 Svetlana Alexievich
Selected Poems of Anna Akhmatova by Anna Akhmatova
I didn't think I would complete this one. For me, poetry is the hardest of texts to read a..."
Sorry, Amanda, Anna Akhmatova does not qualify for 10.8. Ukraine works for 20.6, but for 10.8 we are looking for Russia.
Tien wrote: "20.6 Svetlana Alexievich (2015)Child 44 (Leo Demidov #1) by Tom Rob Smith
Review
A fascinating mystery set in the suspenseful era of the Russian Federation. The beg..."
+5 Combo 20.1
+5 Jumbo 509 p in MPE
From Post 363Tien wrote: "10.3 Science Fiction Day
Somewhere in Time by Richard Matheson
#47 on list
Review
I do love a romantic time travel novel though I still loved [book:The Time Traveller’s..."
+5 Oldies (1975)
10.9 - Realistic RatingsLife As We Knew It by Susan Beth Pfeffer
Lexile 770, no styles
+10 task
Task total: 10
Grand Total: 745
Task 10.9 Realistic Ratings The Ice Queen (2005) by Alice Hoffman (Goodreads Author) (Paperback, 211 pages)
+10 Task
Task Total: 10
Grand Total: 200 + 10 = 210
15.2 DominosMean Streak by Sandra Brown
(same decade of publication as November 9 by Colleen Hoover 2010's)
Task +15
Grand Total = 95
15.5 DominoesHow the Irish Saved Civilization by Thomas Cahill
+15 task same first name Thomas as 15.4
Grand Total: 125
20.7 - FeminismThe Blind Assassin by Margaret Atwood
I like a lot of Margaret Atwood's books, but I found this one rather slow and ponderous: well-written of course, but hard to justify 600+ pages worth of reading time. Other people have mentioned twists and surprises but I didn't experience those, just a long, sad story slowly revealed. Maybe it's because I'm used to reading mysteries - I guessed certain things were not as they seemed.
There is some beautiful description and amusing detail of the two sisters’ lives as the daughters of the failing major employer in a small town in Canada. That sense of destruction of a house, dynasty and a whole way of life in the 1920s-30s was the major takeaway from this book for me.
+20 task (#61 on list)
+25 combo (10.3, 10.4, 10.8, 10.9, 20.5)
+10 review
+5 jumbo (637 pages)
Task total: 60
Grand Total: 805
10.5 Favorite Authors (a.k.a. Moderator Gift)Shakespeare's Sonnets by William Shakespeare
+10 Task
+25 Oldies (1609)
Task Total: 35
Grand Total: 590
10.7 Cozy Holidays (Karen Michele's Task)-Twelve Drummers Drumming by C.C. Benison
+10 Task
+10 Combo: 10.8 Winter Solstice (Canada) / 10.9 Realistic Ratings (3.49)
+ 5 Series 1
Task Total: 25
Grand Total: 615
20.4-Elfriede Jelinek (2004)Wonderful, Wonderful Times by Elfriede Jelinek
+20 Task
+ 5 Combo: 10.9 Realistic Ratings
+ 5 Oldies (1980)
Task Total: 30
Grand Total: 645
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Reading with Style
Books mentioned in this topic
The Night Ranger (other topics)The Drop (other topics)
Shoot the Dog (other topics)
The Whites (other topics)
Between the World and Me (other topics)
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Authors mentioned in this topic
Alex Berenson (other topics)Brad Smith (other topics)
Harry Brandt (other topics)
Ta-Nehisi Coates (other topics)
Alex Berenson (other topics)
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Cabal by Clive Barker
+15 task
task total: 15
grand total: 300